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Interview with: Gunnar Jarring

(Sweden, 1907 – 2002)
Diplomat, Turkologist

Mr. Gunnar Jarring was appointed as Sweden's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in 1956. He had previously served in several diplomatic posts with the Swedish Foreign Service, including in Teheran, Baghdad and Addis Ababa and as Swedish Minister to India. He represented Sweden in the Security Council in 1957 and 1958, while in 1958 he was also the Swedish Ambassador to the United States. During the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Mr. Jarring was appointed by Secretary-General U Thant as his special representative on the Middle East question, a position he was active in until 1973.

Although inactive at the time of the interview, conducted on 7 November 1990, Mr. Jarring still held his position as the special representative on the Middle East question. He discussed his role as special representative, the "Jarring Memorandum" and his evaluation of the United Nations involvement in the Middle East.

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